Switch-stand.



N. 0. GOLDSMITH. I SWITCH STAND.

APPLICATION man APR. 15, 1912.

1,065,520, Patented June 24,1913.

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05 503 22 I swam $44M JMM 7% i Y WafM MOMM' N. 0. GOLDSMITH.

SWITCH STAND.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.15, 1912.

Patented June 24,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

risirsn STATES rarnnr caries.

NATHANIEL O. GOLDSMITH, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WEIR FROG-COMPANY, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SWITCH-STAND.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NATHANIEL 0. GOLD-snrrI-r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city ofNorwood, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in SwitclrStands, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to switch stands for operating and controllingswitch connection in railways, and one object of my invention is toprovide a mechanical interlock for the switch points which shallpositively lock the main track switch tight against its stock rail, sothat the switch cannot be thrown to its opposite position until the lockis released.

Another object is to connect the target with this interlocking mechanismso that when the target is in a position to indicate that the main lineis safe, the switch rails shall be locked in safe position, and also toprovide that the target shall be moved to indicate danger upon therelease of the interlocking devices, whether the switch rails have beenmoved or not.

A still further object is to provide that when the switch is reversed,the switch rails shall be moved to the main line position before thetarget is shifted to indicate safety, and in which it shall be necessaryto lock the switch rails simultaneously with the movement of the targetinto safety position.

The mechanism involves in its essentials a revoluble barrel with camsurfaces or spiral grooves arranged longitudinally and transversely ofthe axis of the barrel, with connecting mechanism to the target rod, themain switch bar and the interlocking devices whereby the switch bar andthe interlocking bar may be set at right angles to each other and beactuated in the same hori- Zontal plane by the rotation of the barrel,at the same time that the movement of the target bar shall shift thetarget to indicate the open or closed position of the switch.

In the drawings, Figure l is a top plan view of my improved switchstand, showing the connection with one switch rail and one main rail.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a top view of theSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 15, 1912.

Patented June 24, 1913. Serial No. 690,764.

switch stand construction with the casing removed, showing the targetrod in cross section. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the target operatingmechanism, with the easing in section. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of theswitch stand. Fig. 6 is a plan view of one end of the barrel. Fig. 7illustrates a development of the longitudinal spiral groove of thebarrel.

The main switch bar 1 is bolted'to the switch rail 2 in the usual way,one of said rails only being illustrated, with one of the stock rails 3,under which the switch bar passes to the switch stand. The other switchrail and the other stock rail are not shown, but it will be understoodthat the usual connecting bar connects the two switch rails together, sothat they will be actuated simultaneously.

The housing for'the operating parts of the switch stand comprises asemicylindrical casing 4, with base flanges 5, 6, for securing the standin position on "the ends of two cross ties, or on any other suitablesupport. The operating parts are inclosed by the semi-cylindrical cover7, which is suitably bolted to the main casing. The base flange 6 of thehousing is provided with an extension 10, formed with a rectangularopening 11, to receive and guide the inner end of an interlocking bar12. This interlocking bar is connected by a clevis 13 with ascrewthreaded connecting bar 14, carrying at either end an arm 15, eachof which arms is securely bolted to its respective switch rail at thepoint 16. By this construction we have two bars, the main switch bar 1and the interlocking bar 12, securely connected to each switch rail, andscrewthreaded connection is made as illustrated in order that the lengthof the bars can be adjusted to take up any slack. The inner end of thebar 12 is provided with a hole 17, which, when the switch rails are inopen position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, registers with a transverseopening in the extension 10, in position to be engaged by a plunger rod18, which is suitably guided in the housing of the switch stand, to beactuated as hereinafter described, to engage with the end of theinterlocking bar 12 and lock it in position, or to be withdrawntherefrom to allow for the shifting of the switch rails.

Mounted in suitable bearings in the end and. parallel with the mainswitch bar is a shaft 19, upon which is mounted, or cast integraltherewith, a barrel 20. This barrel is formed with a longitudinal,spiral groove 21, which extends completely around the barrel from oneend to the other and back to the starting point. A development of thisspiral is illustrated in Fig. 7, showing that the groove is providedwith straight. portions 22, 28, at either end, whereby, under therotation of the barrel, any stud or roller riding in the groove will beheld stationary or in idle position when moving in the straight portionsof the groove, and in which such stud or roller will be shiftedlengthwise of the axis of the barrel when riding in the inclinedportions.

Vl hile I have illustrated the barrel as provided with a completelongitudinal spiral, it will be understood that only half of the spiralgroove is intended to be uti lized for any particular arrangement of themoving parts of the switch stand, and that the spiral is made completein order that the barrel may be arranged to lock either right or lefthand points.

The longitudinal spiral groove in the drum is engaged by a roller 24,mounted on stud 25, secured to the switch bar 1, and it will beunderstood, as just described, that as the drum is rotated, the rollerand. with it the switch bar will be actuated to shift the switch bar ina direction parallel with the axis of the drum.

The head 26 of the barrel 2O provided on its outer face with a pair ofcam grooves 27, 28, two grooves being formed as shown in Fig. 6, toprovide for the use of the drum either for rightor left switch points,and only one groove being used for a single switch connection. One end29 of each groove is eccentric of the axis of the shaft 19, while theremaining portion of the groove is concentric therewith, as shown in 6.Secured on the inner end of the locking bar 18 is a roller 30, whichengages in this cam groove, and the parts are so assembled that when theroller 30 is in the outer end of the eccentric portion of the groove,the locking bar 18 will be in its loclrin position in engagement withthe hole 17 in the interlocking bar 12. The bar 18 also carries, or hasattached thereto, or connected therewith, a rack 31, which engages asegment pinion 32, secured on the lower end of the target rod 88, whichrod on its upper end carries the target arms 34;. It will be evidentthat, from this construction, during the first part of the rotation. oft walls of the casing at me shaft 19, as hereinafter described, theroller 30 and with it the bar 18 will be shifted in a plane at rightangles to the movement of the bar 1, and that this movement will rotatethe target rod 33. During the subsequent movement of the shaft 19 andthe barrel 20, the roller 30 will be in idle position. The spiral. andcam grooves are so arranged and the parts so mounted that the roller 2%riding in the longitudinal spiral will be idle at the time the roller 30is under actuation in the eccentric portion of the cam groove 29, andthe roller 24; will be actuated by the spiral groove to shift the switchbar lengthwise at the time the locking bar 18 is in idle position.

For rotating the shaft 19, I provide the switch handle 35, having theweighted end This handle is fixed on the end of the shaft 19 and iscapable of moving through an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees, inorder to give a half rotation to the actuating barrel 20. The parts areso mounted that during the first portion of the movement of the switchhandle, say through an arc of fifty five degrees, the locking bar 18will be shifted to be withdrawn from the interlocking bar 12 to releasesame and the rack 81 will be shifted to rotate the target rod through anarc of ninety degrees, and to change the target from a positionindicating safety to the danger position. Then during the subsequentmovement of the switch handle, the barrel will be rotated to carry theroller 24 from one end of the barrel to the other and thus to shift theswitch rails into contact with the main rail. Upon the reverse movement, the switch rail 1 is shifted to open the main line, and then theopening in the interlocking bar 12 being brought into proper positionthe locking bar 18 is caused to engage and lock the interlocking bar,and at the same time the target is rotated to safety position.

As heretofore stated, the special object of my invention is topositively lock the switch point for the main line which lies againstthe stock rail, so as to insure safety for the heavy and fast traffic onthe main line. Inasmuch as the turnout for the switch may be either tothe right or the left and therefore the main track switch rail may lieon the right or left side of the track, it is evident that as the switchstand in either event may be located on the right hand side of the trackas the switch is approached, it will be necessary to shift the switchbar in one direction for the right hand turnout and in the oppositedirection for the left hand turnout. As heretofore described, however,the spiral groove in which the roller or stud on the switch bar operatesis provided with a straight portion to allow the switch bar to remainidle while the lock is released, while the spiral portion of the groovecomes into play after the barrel has been partially rotated. As the idleportion of the groove is only at one end of the throw of the switchhandle and this at the locking end, if we set up the switch stand in thesame way for either right or left turnouts and attempt to operate theswitch by reversing the movement of the switch. handle as the case mightrequire, while the device would operate, the lock for the switch wouldbe actuated in one case at the commencement of the handle throw and inthe other case at the end of the throw. It would follow from this, thatin one case I would lock when the main line switch rail was against itsstock rail and the main line open for trafic, and in the other case whenthe main line switch rail was away from its stock rail and the main linebroken.

As the object is to look the switch pointfor the main line traffic, Iproceed as follows in setting up the switch stand for right hand or lefthand turnouts: As illustrated in the drawings, the switch is set up fora left hand turnout and the movement of the switch lever from right toleft first releases the lock and then shifts the switch bar to theright, the roller 24: traveling in the under groove. In thisillustration, the main line switch point and the switch stock rail arenot shown, but lie on the left. Let me assume a right hand turnout. Inthis event, the open switch point 2 would be shown on the right of themain line stock rail 3, and the switch point for the main line and theswitch stock rail would appear between the switch stand and the rails 2and 3. In this position, to open the switch, the switch bar :would haveto be moved to the left. In order to accomplish this, I first swing theswitch lever 35 in an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees. This bringsthe roller 24 into the other end of the spiral groove, the rollertraveling in the under groove; then I detach the switch lever from theshaft 19 and bring it back to its original position and re-at-t-ach tothe shaft, without rotating the barrel 20. Now when I swing the leverone hundred and eighty degrees as before, the barrel 20 has made acomplete revolution of three hundred and sixty degrees, and the roller24 travels first in the idle or straight portion of the groove at theopposite end from that shown in the drawing and then in the spiral ofthe upper groove and the switch bar will be shifted in the oppositedirection as required. However when I performed the first operation ofswinging the switch lever one hundred and eighty degrees before Idetached it, by this movement I shifted the roller 30 into theconcentric end of its groove and opened the lock and the head 26 of thebarrel as shown in Fig. 6 is reversed. It is evident, therefore, thatwith the roller 30 in the end of the concentric portion of the groove,the barrel cannot be rotated in the same direction as before, andmoreover the lock is open instead of in engagement with the interlockingbar 12 as it should be. I therefore re move the roller 30 from itsformer groove and place it in the eccentric end of the other groove.This at once shifts the lock bar to its engagement with the interlockingbar 12 and the switch mechanism is properly assembled for the right handturnout.

The complete spiral groove in the barrel and the two grooves in thehead, while only one groove of each set is used for any particularlocation of the switch stand, therefore, bear an important relation toeach other and enable me to utilize the stand for either right or leftturnouts, with the least possible adjustment of the parts. All that itis necessary to do is to change the location of the switch lever on theshaft 19 and to move the locking stud from one groove to the other, asjust described.

While I have illustrated and described the barrel 20 with its head 26 asa single casting, it will, of course, be understood that theconstruction can be made of such number of parts suitably riveted orbolted together as may be desired and as may be found convenient informing the parts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Let-- ters Patent, is

1. In a switch stand, a switch bar, and a locking bar, a revoluble blockwit-h cam surfaces lengthwise of and transverse the axis thereof,engaging means intermediate one cam surface and the switch bar and theother cam surface and the locking bar, whereby the rotation of the blockwill reciprocate the switch bar and locking bar in planes substantiallyat right angles to each other.

2. In a switch stand, a switch bar, and a locking bar, a revoluble blockwith cam surfaces lengthwise of and transverse the axis thereof,engaging means intermediate one cam surface and the switch bar and theother cam surface and the locking bar, with said cam surfaces formedrespectively with straight and spiral portions for the one cam andeccentric and concentric portions for the other cam whereby the rotationof the block will reciprocate the switch bar and the lock ing barintermittently in planes substantially at right angles to each other.

3. In a switch stand, a switch bar, and a locking bar, a revoluble blockwith cam surfaces lengthwise of and transverse the axis thereof,engaging means intermediate one cam surface and the switch bar and theother cam surface and the locking bar, with said cam surfaces formedrespectively with straight and spiral portions for the one cam andeccentric and concentric portions for the other cam, and with thestraight portion of one cam cooperating with the eccentric portion ofthe other, whereby the rotation of the block will reciprocate the switchbar and the locking bar intermittently and at differcnt times, in planesat right angles to each other.

4:. In a switch stand, a switch bar and an interlocking bar, eachattached at right angles to the switch rails, a revolulole block, withswitch handle for rotating said block, ram grooves on said blockarranged longi tudinally and transversely the axis thereof, a stud onthe switch bar engaging one groove, a locking pin at right angles to theinterlocking bar adapted to engage and lock the same, with a stud on thepin engaging the other groove, whereby the rotation of the block willrelease the locking pin and shift the switch bar and the interlockingbar.

In a switch stand, a switch bar and an interlocking bar, each attachedat right angles to the switch "ails, a revoluble block, with switchhandle for rotating said block, cam grooves on said block arranged.longitudinally and transversely the axis thereof, with said groovesformed respectively with straight and spiral portions for the one grooveand eccentric and concentric portions for .the other groove, a stud onthe switch bar engaging one groove, a locking pin at right angles to theinterlocking bar adapted to engage and to lock the same, with a stud onthe pin engaging the other groove, whereby the rotation of the blockwill release the locking pin and shift the switch bar in sequence.

(3. In a switch stand, a switch bar and an interlocking bar, eachattached to the switch rails in parallel planes, a locking pin to lockthe interlocking bar in fixed position, with a pair of cams forautomatically releasing the locking pin and shifting the switch bar insequence during one movement of the releasing and shifting means.

T. In a switch stand, a switch bar, and a locking bar, a revolubleblock, with cam surfaces longitudinal and transverse the axis thereof,engaging means intermediate one cam surface and the switch bar and theother cam surfa e and the locking bar, with the longitudinal andtransverse cam surfaces arranged in pairs, whereby the engaging meansmay be forced to travel on opposite sides of the axis of the revolubleblock for shifting the switch bar in opposite directions, in properrelation with the movement of the locking bar.

8. In a switch stand, a switch bar, and a locking bar, a revoluble blockwith cam surfaces longitudinal and transverse the axis thereof, engagingmeans intermediate one cam surface and the switch bar and the other camsurface and the locking bar, with said cam surfaces form-ed respectivelywith straight and spiral portions for the one cam and eccentric andconcentric portions for the other cam, with the longitudinal andtransverse cam surfaces arranged in pairs, whereby the engaging meansmay be forced to travel on opposite sides of the axis of the revolubleblock for shifting the switch bar in opposite directions, in properrelationwith the movement of the locking bar.

9. In a switch stand, a switch bar, and a locking bar, a revoluble blockwith cam surfaces longitudinal and transverse the axis thereof, engagingmeans intern'iediate one cam surface and the switch bar and the othercam surface and the locking bar, with said cam surfaces formedrespectively with straight and spiral portions for the one cam andeccentric and concentric portions for the other cam, and with thestraight portion of one cam cooperating with the eccentric portion ofthe other, with the longitudinal and turnsverse cam surfaces arranged inpairs, whereby the engaging means may be forced to travel on oppositesides of the axis of the revoluble block for shifting the switch bar inopposite directions, in proper relation with the movement of the lockingbar.

10. In a switch stand, a switch bar and an interlocking bar, eachattached at right angles to the switch rails, a revoluble block, withswitch handle for rotating said block, cam grooves on said blockarranged longitudinally and transversely the axis thereof, astud on theswitch bar engaging one groove, a locking pin at right angles to theinterlocking bar adapted to engage and lock the same, with a stud on thepin engaging the other groove, with the longitudinal and transversegrooves arranged in pairs, and the studs on the switch bar and lockingpin, adapted to engage with a groove in each corresponding pair, toreverse the travel of the switch bar stud, upon changing the position ofthe switch handle.

11. lin a switch stand, a switch bar, a lock therefor, and an operatinghandle, with rotating mechanism comprising a pair of cams intermediatethe handle and the switch bar and the lock, whereby the lock may beactuated and the switch bar operated in sequence with one movement ofthe operating handle.

NATHANIEL O. GOLDSMITH.

Attest:

L. F. Lnvrnes,

MansToN ALLEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, ID. 0.

